Japan hit by 7.3-magnitude earthquake

[zenitzz]

A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 has struck southern Japan barely 24 hours after a smaller quake hit the same region and killed nine people.

Police on Saturday were reported as saying that at least six people had been killed. Authorities said hundreds of calls had come in from residents reporting people trapped inside houses and buildings on the island of Kyushu.

The fire and disaster management agency said 66 people were trapped inside a nursing home in Mashiki, the town hit hardest, and rescue efforts were under way.

The latest quake also appeared to have triggered a small eruption of the Mt Aso volcano on Kyushu. Public broadcaster NHK said smoke rose about 100 metres in the air. The Japanese Meteorological Agency kept its alert level at 2 on a scale of 5 for the volcano

More than 400 people were treated at hospitals after the quake, which shook the Kumamoto region at 1.25am local time on Saturday, followed by several aftershocks.

Japan’s meteorological agency issued but later lifted a temporary advisory for a tsunami of up to one metre high along the coast west of the epicentre.

Read more:  http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/15/japan-hit-by-74-magnitude-earthquake-tsunami-advisory

[mikhael]

Unfortunately this is the 4th or 5th earthquake to hit them in recent days, which experts in seismology believe the "BIG ONE" is coming to them soon. This would cause devastation well beyond Japan. God Bless all of those in harms way!

[designerusa]

A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 has struck southern Japan barely 24 hours after a smaller quake hit the same region and killed nine people.

Police on Saturday were reported as saying that at least six people had been killed. Authorities said hundreds of calls had come in from residents reporting people trapped inside houses and buildings on the island of Kyushu.

The fire and disaster management agency said 66 people were trapped inside a nursing home in Mashiki, the town hit hardest, and rescue efforts were under way.

The latest quake also appeared to have triggered a small eruption of the Mt Aso volcano on Kyushu. Public broadcaster NHK said smoke rose about 100 metres in the air. The Japanese Meteorological Agency kept its alert level at 2 on a scale of 5 for the volcano

More than 400 people were treated at hospitals after the quake, which shook the Kumamoto region at 1.25am local time on Saturday, followed by several aftershocks.

Japan’s meteorological agency issued but later lifted a temporary advisory for a tsunami of up to one metre high along the coast west of the epicentre.

Read more:  http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/15/japan-hit-by-74-magnitude-earthquake-tsunami-advisory

this is too scary to handle.. earthquake is the most horrible fact of nature.. but i am sure that japanese people are living in earthquake resistant buildings for that reason there will be no too much damage if a horrible earthquake happens..

[Aggressor66]

Hopefully no nuclear reactors in its path this time.

[Lust]

I hope they are safe now, Mashiki sits near two faults and is also near Mount Aso, a huge active volcano.

[Saksham]

Why have there been so many earthquakes recently? I wonder if this is a special year for earthquakes, or just a normal one.

[Fortify]

Why have there been so many earthquakes recently? I wonder if this is a special year for earthquakes, or just a normal one.

Well no one can really predict how or when the tectonic plates that circle the Pacific ocean will start moving. It's energy being released from the very center of the earth and it causes friction when one plate rubs against another. When you get a string of them happening, it is naturally a major warning sign and you just have to hope lots of little ones let off enough steam to prevent the big one.

[acroman08]

Unfortunately this is the 4th or 5th earthquake to hit them in recent days, which experts in seismology believe the "BIG ONE" is coming to them soon. This would cause devastation well beyond Japan. God Bless all of those in harms way!

whoah!! thats scary our country is just below japan but fortunately we havent had any earthquakes yet. jsut hoping japan
doesnt have to go through a 9 magnitude again.

[gilangIDR]

the strength of the quake is very large. I am still traumatized tsunami that happened several years yesterday. it was very scary. I hope the conditions countermeasures after the earthquake in Japan either. and hopefully the victims are given strength and security.

[bryant.coleman]

The Japanese are used to these earthquakes. The number of deaths might be limited to a few dozen at the most. The building codes are strictly enforced, and as a result the damage to the property and humans might be very low. On the other hand, had this earthquake occurred in Pakistan or India, the death toll would have crossed 5-figures by now.

[Betwrong]

The Japanese are used to these earthquakes. The number of deaths might be limited to a few dozen at the most. The building codes are strictly enforced, and as a result the damage to the property and humans might be very low. On the other hand, had this earthquake occurred in Pakistan or India, the death toll would have crossed 5-figures by now.

That's right. I think and I hope Japan will be safe mostly because of the high quality building they build. Too bad that other countries, poor countries suffer from the cataclysms of the Earth a lot.

[Farhad shaikh]

Earthquake a biggest nurture function. We can,t protect for it. only we  prepares it. God help Japan.

[bryant.coleman]

Too bad that other countries, poor countries suffer from the cataclysms of the Earth a lot.

Japan is a quake-prone country, so they invest a lot of money in to constructing earthquake-resistant buildings. But in countries such as India and Pakistan, where earthquakes are very rare, it doesn't make sense to spend billions of USD to reinforce buildings against ground-shaking. That money can be better spent on poverty eradication and education.

[iqlimasyadiqa]

Japan is in an area that has become active path earthquake. Japanese from time immemorial is often hit by an earthquake with great force. many Japanese residents are still traumatized, as the time of the devastating earthquake that caused the tsunami a few years ago. experts and influential people in Japan should make a breakthrough as a form of avoiding victim both before and after the earthquake. Japanese hopefully could be better in terms of handling.

[AzibLala007]

may Allah keep all people of Japan safe from any harm by earthquake.
we can pray them.
and just be patiant in the difficult times.
these are the test by Allah to see their patiant level.
bay Allah bless them all who died.

[romero121]

Japan looks to be one among the world countries which gets affected much by the different form of natural disaster. But the way they retain from those scenario is really miraculous.

[bryant.coleman]

Japan looks to be one among the world countries which gets affected much by the different form of natural disaster. But the way they retain from those scenario is really miraculous.

Japan has been affected by natural catastrophes, as well as man-made disasters. Remember the nuclear strikes on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945? They lost more than 450,000 lives in those crimes against humanity (292,325 in Hiroshima and 165,409 in Nagasaki). Millions of others were injured, and went on to live with horrific injuries for the rest of their lives. And yet, they recovered from it.

This was Hiroshima in 1945:





And this is Hiroshima now:

[xht]

Are Earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador Related? The Science Says No

Earthquakes of magnitudes exceeding 7.0 struck Japan and Ecuador just hours apart on Saturday. Are the two somehow related?

No. The two quakes occurred about 9,000 miles apart. That’s far too distant for there to be any connection between them.

Large earthquakes can, and usually do, lead to more quakes — but only in the same region, along or near the same fault. These are called aftershocks. Sometimes a large quake can be linked to a smaller quake that occurred earlier, called a foreshock. In the case of the Japanese quake, seismologists believe that several magnitude-6 quakes in the same region on the previous day were foreshocks to the Saturday event.

But the two earthquakes are similar in some ways, aren’t they?

Not really. The magnitude-7.8 quake in Ecuador was what would be considered a classic megathrust event, a type that was first identified through the work of George Plafker, a United States Geological Survey geologist, on the great Alaskan earthquake of 1964. A megathrust quake occurs in the boundary zone where one of the planet’s tectonic plates is sliding under another, a process called subduction.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/18/world/americas/earthquake-epidemic-scientists-say-no.html

[coinzat]

in my opinion , the most fascinating thing about Japan is although the usually has a lot of nature crises like hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunami, but they could pass all difficulties and be one of the most developed countries in the world. 

[bryant.coleman]

in my opinion , the most fascinating thing about Japan is although the usually has a lot of nature crises like hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunami, but they could pass all difficulties and be one of the most developed countries in the world. 

There are many reasons for this. Japan is an ethnically homogeneous country, where there are no disadvantaged ethnic groups (there are the Ainu and the Burakumin, but they are too few in number). Also, the Japanese tend to have long working hours, with the average factory worker toiling for up to 60 hours per week, compared to 30-35 hours per week which is common in the western world. And despite the long working hours, the quality of the Japanese products remain among the best in the world.